


Travelling Storms

by watermelonriddles



Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: F/M, Soft Rio (Good Girls)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 14:21:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18830437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watermelonriddles/pseuds/watermelonriddles
Summary: A series of events lead to Beth discovering the meaning and truth behind Rio's name.





	Travelling Storms

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't stop thinking about his name being Christopher and this was meant to be something short about that but it kind of grew a little so I really hope you all enjoy.
> 
> Deviates after 2x11.

Driving to Dean’s house on a Monday at 6 pm wasn’t a usual scenario for Beth but everything since their divorce had gone so well that she was willing to accommodate to certain changes if the circumstances allowed for it. Custody had been a difficult one for them but they eventually settled on something they could agree on. On a usual week, Dean would pick the kids up from school on Friday and then bring them back to Beth’s on Monday evening after picking them up from school and spending a bit more time with them. As well as that, every third week, Beth would pick them up from school on Monday and have them all week to make up for the lack of weekends.

It was a routine that worked well. She and Rio had been back on good terms for months and after some persuading, he agreed that she would only do drops while the kids were at school or on the days she didn’t have them. It helped that there were days where Rio had Marcus when she didn’t have her kids and vice versa so they could help each other out with drops and whatnot. She really wanted things to work out this time. After admitting to herself that giving up a crime wasn’t really an option, she was more determined than ever to strike a balance between Book Club and her family.

Beth’s phone suddenly began to ring. She glanced over to see his name scroll across the screen and she hesitated for a moment before hitting the button to answer the call, automatically sending it to loudspeaker. After a brief pause, his voice filled her car.

“Mama, I need you to do a drop.”

She rolled her eyes. “Hello. I’m good, thank you for asking. I’m going to guess you’re not good though because it’s not my day to do drops.”

Rio scoffed. “Yeah, well, I need you to.”

“I can’t.”

“Elizabeth.” His voice was strained and she could tell he was irritated.

“I’m nearly at Dean’s. I’m picking up the kids.” She paused to concentrate on her driving as she came to a crossroad. “We had a deal remember?”

“Don’t he normally drop them off later?”

“Usually, yes, but there was no school today so I’m just picking them up from his. I did tell you that.” He muttered something under his breath and Beth knew that it was him remembering. She sighed. “Look, Annie is taking Sadie to his Dad’s in the next hour or so, if you can push the drop back a little she could probably do it afterward. You’ll just need to call her and check.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “That could work.”

“Is everything okay?” It was unusual for him to forgot and he had been very good at working around the schedule they had both agreed on.

“Everything’s fine, mama,” he said, voice much brighter now. “Something just came up.”

“Well, if you’re sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Another pause. “Oh, and Elizabeth?” When she didn’t answer, he continued on. “Drive safe, yeah? Storms are supposed to be coming in.”

Before she could respond, he hung up. Beth rolled her eyes. It was stereotypical of him. He would show concern and then drop off the face of the Earth without waiting for any kind of response. Still, she would take it. While he was still a mystery to her in a lot of ways, in the months since she decided she wanted out and then subsequently asked to be let back in, they had been getting closer and closer. 

While there was nothing physically intimate between them, Beth found that she didn’t mind. At first, she really did miss the sex and she had been thinking about what it would be like to kiss him again or even what it might be like to hold his hand (that one surprised her) but really the lack of it all no longer bothered her. They were finally able to be in the same room again without it turning into an argument and there was even comfortable ease between them. It was like in the early days before it all went wrong. They worked well together but between the small acts of concern on his behalf and the fact they tended to agree more often than not, it felt like more than just working well together.

Before she could fall further down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out what was even going on between them, Beth was pulled from her thoughts as she arrived at Dean’s. She barely made her way up the path before the front door flew open and her kids came running out. Emma and Jane reached her first and she crouched down to greet them, an arm wrapping around each of them. Danny and Kenny came up on either side and wrapped their arms around the three of them.

“I missed you!” Emma said excitedly.

Beth rubbed the tip of her nose against Emma’s. “I missed you guys too.”

“We’ve already had dinner,” Kenny told her.

Beth unraveled herself from them all and stood up. She put an arm around Kenny’s shoulders as they all headed up to the house. “I know, your Dad let me know.”

He let out a breath. “Oh, good.”

She hugged him tightly against her side. All four of them had taken to the divorce surprisingly well but Kenny had been concerned that she and Dean could fallout for good and so he often did this best to stop them from arguing. She always reassured him that he didn’t need to worry because they were bound to argue but they were both committed to being his parents above everything else so they would both always be there. He seemed to be coming around to that idea but his concern was still there under the surface and it bubbled up sometimes.

As they stepped into the house, the kids ran off to get their things and Dean appeared in the archway between the living room and the kitchen. He offered up a smile and she wandered over to him.

“How have they been today?”

“A little hyper,” Dean admitted with a laugh. “They’ve calmed down a bit though. Thank you for coming to get them.”

Beth waved him off and smiled. “There was no point in you coming out if they didn’t have school and it’s the least I can do considering you took the day off work to be with them.”

“Well, I appreciate it.”

At that moment, the kids came running into the room with their backpacks on and Beth turned her attention to them. “Alright, give your dad a hug and say goodbye.”

While they did so, Beth went outside to the van. She opened up the side door and waited for them. Things were surprisingly easy between her and Dean, it helped a lot that they weren’t in the same house anymore and they mostly talked about the kids. He never asked about Book Club anymore and Beth wasn’t sure how long that would last but she didn’t bring it up out of fear of poking the bear. Still, she could only take him in small doses so their interactions were usually brief unless they were doing something together with the kids but she was relieved that they could be amicable at least.

Eventually, the four of them came running out and she ushered them into the van. Once they were all strapped in, she looked back at Dean. He was stood in the open doorway. They waved to each other and as she climbed into the driver’s side, he continued to wave at the kids until they had completely driven away.

As they drove, a message flashed up on her screen and she caught sight of it before it disappeared. _Annie: So, gang friend says you offered up services. I think you owe me._ Beth just laughed and ignored her sister’s message and the kids chatted to her about their weekend. She listened to everything they said, giving the appropriate responses. By the time they got home, she was fully caught up and they were all just excited to go to their rooms and play before they had to get ready for bed. Beth didn’t argue, she was more than happy to let them run upstairs and tire themselves out but Jane wanted to sit with her and bake some cupcakes.

Ever since the divorce, Beth had stepped away completely from Boland Motors. It was doing surprisingly well and it meant Dean provided all of the appropriate financial support for the kids. Beth had tried to keep working there so their finances, at least when it involved their family, would be linked to some extent but she couldn’t. It was an unnecessary strain because Dean would often grow suspicious that she might use it again for Book Club. In the end, she quit and to thank her for everything she had done, a lot of the employees helped her to set up her own little bakery that she worked from home.

It wasn’t like baking for the school and having to follow all the PTA rules. She could set her own hours (she often worked while the kids were at school) and she could take on as little or as much work as she wanted. It also helped that she had the added income from Book Club.

This time around, she had to make some cupcakes for a woman a couple of streets over who was throwing a birthday party for her six year old. She couldn’t exactly let Jane help with that and really it didn’t have to be done straight away so they started by making a separate batch first that would be just for them, Kenny, Danny, and Emma, that way if anything went wrong, it didn’t really matter too much. Plus, as Beth predicted, Jane soon got bored once the cakes were cooled and decorated and she wandered over to watch some TV allowing for Beth to get a head start with her order so she would have less work to do the next day.

She was in the middle of making her second batch of cupcakes when the side door suddenly opened and closed. Her back was to the door as she stood by the oven and she didn’t even bother to look up because she knew exactly who it was.

“They smell good.” Beth pointed behind her at the island counter where two cupcakes sat on a plate. They were plain sponge with blue and purple icing, the ones she and Jane had made together. Although she couldn’t see his face, she could sense his smile. “Thanks, mama.”

Beth continued to spoon the new batter into the cupcake cases (there were unicorns on some and robots on the others) and put them into the oven before she finally turned to face him. He was just finishing up his cupcake.

“You’re the man from the park with the bird on his neck.”  
  
Beth and Rio both looked over to see Jane standing there, watching them. Rio threw his cupcake casing into the trash before he walked over to her. He looked at her for a moment before he crouched down. Beth wandered a little closer to get a better look at Rio and Jane who seemed to stare each other down before the latter broke out into a smile.

“Can I see your birdy?” Rio settled onto his knees and put his head back. Jane leaned in a little to get a closer look and even touched one of the wings. “What kind is it?”

He put his head back down so he could look at her. “It’s an eagle.”

Beth noticed the way Jane’s mouth parted slightly in that way it did when she was fascinated by something. “Does it wash off?”

“Nope. I’ve got it forever.”

“Does it hurt?”

Rio laughed a little and shook his head. “At first but now I don’t even feel it.”

Jane smiled, her eyes looking towards his neck again. “It’s pretty.”

Even Beth laughed at that because ‘pretty’ certainly wasn’t the first word that came to mind when she thought of Rio’s neck tattoo.

“What’s your name?” Jane asked before he could say anything.

That piqued Beth’s interest. Ever since she heard his neighbour call him ‘Christopher’ she had wanted to ask about his name but it never came up. ‘Rio’ seemed the appropriate one to stick to considering it was the one she had known all along and it had been through one of his colleagues - Eddie - that she discovered the name in the first place. She was curious to know which one he would use on this occasion.

“Rio,” he told her, leaving Beth with answers still to ask.

“Jane.”

They shared a smile and Beth finally stepped closer to them. “Jane, sweetie. I think it’s time to go and get ready for bed. Let your brothers and sister know as well. I’ll be up soon.”

Jane pouted but eventually nodded. She threw her arms around Rio in the briefest of hugs before rushing towards the stairs, throwing a “night!” over her shoulder as she did so. As she hurried away, Rio stood up and stretched a little, his eyes still on the stairs until she was completely out of sight.

“Was everything okay with the drop?” Beth asked as they wandered back into the kitchen.

He nodded. “Yeah. Your sister came through and it was one of our more understanding clients.”

“That’s good.” She grabbed the other cupcake and began to pick at it. “Did you sort out whatever came up?”

“Yeah,” Rio said but quickly moved the subject on which would concern her but he did seem genuinely at ease. “What you baking for this time?”

“A six-year-old girl’s birthday party,” Beth explained. “Figured I’d get a head start tonight.”

“Maybe you could make something for Marcus’ birthday,” he mused.

Beth blinked a few times but quickly controlled her surprise and nodded. “Sure. Just let me know when and what.”

“It’s not for a while but I’ll talk to him about it.” He smiled at her.

“So are you here to hire me or…?”

“Well, I think you can help me with some drops this week.”

She bit her lip. Her work was busier that week than it had been before because she was saving up to throw Jane a birthday party and didn’t want to rely on the Book Club money which she often put towards bills, school things, and general survival. It didn’t help that it all sounded very last minute. “What did you have in mind?”

Rio got up from the stool and wandered over to her crafts table when he plucked up her work schedule for the week and a pen. He placed it down on the counter between them. “It’ll be while the kids are at school, so don’t worry.” He lent down and underlined 3 of the jobs from her list. “After each of these deliveries, you’ll do a drop. It’ll be close to each location so you shouldn’t have to go out of your way too much.”

Beth didn’t want to even begin to know how Rio knew her schedule for the upcoming week to be able to plan drops around it but she was thankful nonetheless because it didn’t sound too bad overall. He was already surprisingly accommodating to her custody schedule so doing this would only continue to keep things between them at a good balance. “And that’s it?”

“There might be one on Sunday,” he said.

She shrugged. “The kids will be with Dean anyway. Just let me know as soon as possible though.”

“Sure. I’ll text you the locations for the other three in the meantime.”

With that, he was up from his stool and headed for the side door. He looked back at her, offering up a smile before he disappeared. Only he could come and go at the drop of hat and Beth hated the fact that she was so used to it now.

* * *

The three drops went just as smoothly as Rio predicted and she even did the Sunday one as well. It didn’t add too much extra time and there were no other hiccups to report. Beth was just exhausted. She wasn’t exactly sleepy, it just created this ache throughout her body and all she wanted to do was relax and be lazy. Between doing the extra orders, taking care of the kids, and doing the drops (both pre-scheduled as well as the ones Rio added), it felt like she was back to the old days where things were so off balance and it didn’t help that the storms Rio had mentioned before had finally hit with no predictability but in the end, she got through the week.

It was Wednesday evening and she was sat on her own, eating some leftover cake she ended up not using for her last order when Annie and Ruby called her.

“What are you up to?” Annie asked instantly.

“I’m eating cake alone.”

“Okay, that sounds depressing,” Annie admitted.

“It was leftover,” Beth supplied. “I’m going to catch up on TV. Why?”

“I don’t have Sadie tonight and we haven’t done girls night in a while.”

“And I already agreed to it,” Ruby added. “So really, this is a courtesy call. You’re already in.”

“As long as we go to yours, Annie,” Beth said. “I haven’t gotten to clean up around here today and quite frankly, thanks to all the baking I did earlier, the different smells are starting to mingle and it’s not very nice.”

“If you bring that cake and some bourbon, I’ll happily host.”

“I’ll bring some stuff too,” Ruby said. “You won’t have to lift a finger.”

“I like this whole hosting thing,” Annie said happily.

“That’s not how hosting works,” Beth pointed out. “You actually have to do stuff.”

“Well, that’s not how I do it. Now hurry up and get your asses over here!”

With a collective laugh, they all hung up. Beth decided to remain in her pajamas and simply put a decent pair of shoes on as well as coat. She gathered together a bottle of bourbon as well as the leftover cake. Despite how much she ached, she was excited to finally spend some time with Ruby and Annie, it had been so long and when they did see each other for a good amount of time, it was usually to discuss business.

As she made her way over to Annie’s, it began to rain harder than usual and thunder sounded in the distance. She lowered her speed a little as she tried to see through the onslaught of water and wind that rushed against her windshield. She kept pushing through but suddenly, and Beth wasn’t sure if it was because she lost focus or if it was just the weather but, the car collided with something solid and pain shot through Beth as the airbag exploded.

She didn’t lose consciousness which she knew was a good thing but part of her wished she had just to avoid the pain. It didn’t take long for an ambulance to pick her up and when she got to the hospital her mind was spinning as she was whizzed through to different areas. The short of it was: no concussion, fractured wrist that meant she had to wear a brace, some fractured ribs that hurt when she breathed, and a few bumps, scrapes, and bruises. In the grand scheme of things, she was lucky. With the horrible weather conditions, it could have been much worse.

Both Annie and Ruby came to the hospital, thankfully in the latter’s car which Beth was sure was much safer especially considering it was also her ride home. There was a lot of waiting around before she could leave but the painkillers they gave her worked a treat so Beth was just thankful that she wasn’t in as much pain anymore. 

When they did finally let her home, the rain had thankfully let up a little although it was still coming down. All in all, Beth was fine. She ached a lot and it would be a while before she would completely heal but at least she could move around on her own without any assistance. Ruby drove incredibly slow but it was the constant looks that she and Annie shared via the rear-view mirror that really got to Beth.

“Would one of you please spit it out otherwise I’m walking home.”

“So, you know how I had your bag?” Annie asked.

“Considering I asked you to look after it, yes.”

“Well, gang friend called while you were getting scans done,” Annie said and Beth could feel her stomach tighten. She motioned for Annie to continue. “Well, he knows about the accident and he was going to come to the hospital but I told him not to bother because you seemed alright.”

“He didn’t sound happy,” Ruby said.

“Right,” Beth said as she looked out of the window. “Well I’ll, uh, call him later or something. Update him.”

They lapsed into silence and Beth tried not to let her mind race. It was all too much trying to figure out whether or not to read into the fact that he had been angry. She never could read him, at least not as well as he seemed to be able to read her. She had long since given up on trying to figure out what was going on in regards to him. So long as they got on, she tended to just go with whatever got thrown her way.

As they turned onto her street, Beth noticed his car instantly. It was parked right by her house and it wasn’t until they were up almost right outside her house. Ruby and Annie shared another look but Beth kept her eyes on the house. 

Once they were parked, she was out of the car first and didn’t wait. She went through the front door because it was closer but she was sure he would probably be in the kitchen and the light she saw when she entered, confirmed that. She kicked her shoes off and shrugged out of her coat which she hung by the front door. The hospital had given her some grey sweatpants and an oversized blue t-shirt to wear which she was glad for because her pajamas had looked awful.

“Elizabeth.”

She stopped by the foot of the stairs as he appeared in the archway to the kitchen. He looked a little awkward which would have made Beth laugh if her ribs didn’t hurt so much. Instead, she nodded a little and he stepped towards her until he was stood right in front of her.

“What happened?” Rio asked as his hand came up to gently grip her chin. He titled her a little from side to side to get a better look. It was mostly a little bit of bruising and a couple of scrapes on her left side. It wasn’t bad at all but she could see the way his jaw clenched.

“Crashed my car.”

He gave her an unimpressed look and she tried not to smile. “I know that but _how_?”

“The rain mostly,” Beth supplied. “And I wasn’t as alert as I usually am.”

“You shouldn’t drive when you’re tired.”

“I know that.”

He shifted then and it was unlike him. She could have sworn she saw something flash in his eyes but it was gone too quickly for her to decipher it. He fished his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled a small black box. He moved it from hand to hand for a minute, clearly lost in thought before he looked up at her.

“Got you something.”

“Oh.” Because she really didn’t know what to say.

Rio motioned towards the couch by the stairs. As they moved towards it, she glanced around and noticed Annie and Ruby in the living room, sitting on the couch. She tried not to smile because it was obvious that while they were facing the opposite way, they were clearly trying to listen in.

Once Beth settled on one end of the couch, Rio sat down on the other end and put her legs over his lap. He handed her the small box which she carefully took and opened up. Inside was a necklace with a long chain and small pendant. It took a moment before she realised it was a Saint Christopher necklace. She gently took it out of the box and put it over her head.

“What’s this for?” she asked, looking down at it as it settled against her chest.

“Well, considering he’s the Patron Saint of Travellers and you got hurt while traveling, I figured it might be appropriate.” Although it wasn’t quite the same as when he usually did it, he still smirked.

Normally Beth would have rolled her eyes but there was something so unexpected and kind about the whole thing that she couldn’t so instead she motioned between it and him. “Any connection?”

“Some.” She figured he wouldn’t elaborate because he never did but then he surprised her. He settled back against the couch, his arm along the back of it, his hand so close to her that it wouldn’t take much to reach for it. “My family moved around a lot, they still were when I was born and my parents thought it would be appropriate to name me Christopher.”

“Are you an only child?”

He shook his head. “I got a younger brother. Marco. I guess he would’ve been Christopher if he came along first.”

Beth leaned her head against the back of the couch and Rio’s fingers found their way into her hair, tangling themselves a little. “So where does Rio come from?”

“Old nickname.” She raised a brow and he seemed to consider whether or not he wanted to continue on. She hoped he would. He rarely spoke about himself and she wasn’t about to miss an opportunity. “My last name’s Rivera. It has a few meanings... Shore... Riverbank...”

“Rio means river,” Beth said knowingly. She may or may not have found that out while trying to find out some information on him one night while drunk with Annie and Ruby and handy google informed her of that translation.

“Right, right,” he agreed with a soft nod of his head. “Well, believe it or not, younger me struggled to pronounce ‘Christopher’ properly at first so Rio became like the family nickname for me. My Abuela was the one who came up with the idea, apparently, others in my family have used the same nickname.”

“Was it just your family?”

“Nah.” He concentrated on playing with her hair for a moment. “It stuck so most of my friends called me Rio too. It’s why I still use it.”

“Your neighbour called you Christopher,” Beth pointed out.

He shrugged. “Let’s just say I like a bit of separation sometimes.”

Beth simply settled further into the couch. She could tell he was done offering up any further information but she didn’t mind. It made her feel all warm inside to know he had opened up at all. She still had questions. Did he name Marcus after his brother? Where were his family now? What was young Rio like? She made a mental note of them and all of the questions that followed to ask at a later date.

“Thank you,” she said and when he looked over, she held the necklace up a little.

Rio just smiled and put his head back against the couch, getting comfortable and she realised that he had no plans to leave any time soon. It made that warmth inside of her grow as her heart began to flutter. His hand still continued to play with her hair while the other one rested gently against her leg. As they settled into a comfortable silence, Beth began to play with the necklace and, while lost in thought, it hit her: He had the same one.

Beth had only ever seen it once. It was back when they were in her bed together, right before she told him it was over. She had even rolled it between her fingers during one of their breaks as they laid back against the pillows. She had meant to ask him about it but of course, the connection to his name wouldn’t have been there so she was kind of glad she hadn’t. Still, it sent her mind racing and she hated herself for it because now that she knew he had the same one, she had to know.

Carefully, she reached out and tugged on the collar of his jacket. He untangled himself from her just enough to slip it off and place it on the back of the couch. When he settled again, he went back to playing with his hair but all Beth could concentrate on was the chain that hung over his grey t-shirt. He still had his. They had matching necklaces. It felt juvenile to think it meant anything but Beth couldn’t help but wonder if maybe the car accident was just an excuse to give it to her now.

“Rio,” she said softly and he looked over at her. “Come here.”

He leaned in closer, being careful not to disrupt her too much as he did so. When he was close enough, Beth ignored the pain in her ribs as she leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to his. He was completely still but as Beth began to retreat, he finally moved. As she pulled back, he leaned in closer and captured her lips again. He was slow and gentle and soft but still, he was kissing her and it made her heart soar.

When she pulled away, he pressed his forehead against hers for the briefest of moments. “You alright?”

She ignored the way her ribs ached. “Yes.”

He let out a breath and when she finally looked at him properly, she saw that same look from before only this time he didn’t hide it quick enough and she able to work out what it was. _Concern_. He had shown acts of it before. Just recently he told her to drive safe because of the upcoming storms and mentioned that she shouldn’t drive while tired. Last week he had asked if she wanted someone to accompany her on a drop because it was later than usual and she had to meet a client face to face. The week before that he had actually asked her if she needed anything when he found out she caught a cold from Danny.

Beth had been aware of how much more concern he seemed to show towards her but she figured it was just a result of them getting on so well but this was different. This was an earnest kind. There was so much more to it. The fact that it settled deep in his eyes and practically radiated from him when you caught sight of it, told her so.

“Thank you,” Beth said again as she touched the Saint Christopher pendant, this time looking him right in the eyes as she said it.

Rio’s eyes searched her face for a moment as that look of concern slowly, bit by bit, turned into something else. Admiration maybe? Or even fascination. Beth couldn’t quite settle on which one as he pressed his forehead to hers again. His eyes drifted close and while hers followed suit.

“Got to keep you safe.” It was a fact, pure and simple. She could hear it in the tone of his voice. There was no leeway, it was a promise, and while Beth knew it was ridiculous to think that Rio could protect her from everything, it meant more to her that he was at least willing to try.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, so I've kind of fallen in love with the idea of his name being Christopher Rivera and Rio being a nickname he's used his whole life? I'll probably keep going with that until the show proves me wrong :')


End file.
